Filed under: RR of the Day
RR of the Day: 2001 Ford Ka XR
The Ford Ka is one of our "forbidden fruit" favorites here at Autoblog, so Fabio's Ka had a lot going for it before we even started reading the description. What we learned upon reading, however, was more than enough to catapult it out of Flickr and onto Autoblog as today's RR of the Day.
A self-described "Ford kind of guy" in Brazil, Fabio acquired the Ka in 2005 and is its second owner. As you can see, it's a very well-kept example. Even better, it's the mechanical equivalent of the Euro-market SportKa -- meaning it's got the 95-horsepower 1.6L underhood. He reports that it's very fun to drive, and that he's wound it out to 124 mph on the highway without it feeling the least bit hairy. It probably looked good doing it as well, thanks to its understated factory body kit and Ford Puma-style wheels
That's not the best thing about it, though. Open Fabio's rear hatch, and you find a surprise in the cargo area: a 63-liter CNG (compressed natural gas) tank. The system is safe, legal, and government-certified, and to hear Fabio tell it, it's basically a necessity. CNG, you see, costs three times less than gasoline in Brazil, and the small sacrifices the system calls for -- loss of the Ka's luggage space, drop in peak power to 86 horses, and an additional 154 lbs added to the car's weight -- are offset by the money he saves on fuel. Not only is the CNG system less expensive to run, but it's also very green, leaving
Besides, if he needs added punch, he can flip a switch and get back into gasoline mode, making this one very flexible daily driver, indeed. We love it, Fabio, and truthfully, we're more than a little jealous.
If you'd like to see your own ride featured here, simply upload photos of your ride into our Flickr group. We select one image to highlight each week day, and on the weekend let you vote for the RR of the Week. Detailed instructions can be found after the jump.
HOW TO SUBMIT TO RR OF THE DAY:
Create a Flickr account if you don't already have one. Search for and join the group called 'Autoblog RR of the Day'. Upload up to three photos of your ride to your own account at a size no larger than 450 pixels wide if possible and include as much information about it and yourself as possible. Even if your ride is sweet, it will not be chosen if there's not a lot of info accompanying it. Click on each photo and just above the picture it will say "Send to group". Click that and select the Autoblog group. You're done, that's it!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tim UF 10:20AM (9/26/2006)
now, THATS a true flex fuel vehicle! awesome car.
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Alexandre Souza 10:35AM (9/26/2006)
AEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Mais um Brasileiro no RR of the day! :oD
(yes, one more brazilian on the RR of the day :D)
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Bill McHale 10:38AM (9/26/2006)
Umm, CNG combustion is not CO2 free. Basic Chemistry CH4 + O2 -> C02 + 2H20. Basically if we pump it out of the ground its going to produce CO2.
--
Bill
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Hamud 11:01AM (9/26/2006)
That's Brazil, ehehehehe. Considering that here gasoline is more than 2 reals (local coin) per litre, this CNG is a great help to reduce the costs of owning a car.
The bad side is that you lose almost all the trunk.
The Ka is a really interesting car, small, fast and extremely fun to drive.
Alexandre, teu XR3 Fórmula está nota 10.
[]'s Hamud
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Stacey 11:06AM (9/26/2006)
Saw a bunch of these in Tahiti last year. Couldn't believe how small they were. Seems like a great way to get around a city.
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Karl 11:48AM (9/26/2006)
That's a nice Ka. I've got one myself, only a 2001 model with the bog-standard 1.3l engine so it's down in the power department. I like small hatches but they got to have character and nice handling and controls. In my case they also need to be cheap so I happily bought a Ka again last spring.
I've always hated the Puma wheels, although I love the car, but they look very good on Fabio's Ka. Clearly, Ford put them on the wrong... car. Sorry, it's hard not to make up Ka clichés all the time :)
Lovely example!
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superjeff 12:12PM (9/26/2006)
Please correct the post about the CO2 emissions. That's just ignorant.
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Dave 12:24PM (9/26/2006)
Theres a bunch of those down in Mexico. They are so small and great for Mexico City congested traffic and limited parking. I think the entry level one cost around 79,000 pesos or about 8 thousand bucks.
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chuck goolsbee 12:38PM (9/26/2006)
can somebody explain the price differentials in the top photo?
Uniflo: 9.99
Ultra: 24.90
Ultron: 39.90
Beyond the brand name, what are the actual products? Curious.
As for the Ka. I like the color, as it is unique. You don't see many cars that color. I was living in the UK when the Ka came out, impressive little cars. The obviously sell well, perhaps Ford should make a "bold move" and offer them in the USA.
--chuck
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Ramiro 1:02PM (9/26/2006)
Im'm argentinian and we use cng (I've got a VW Gol -not golf- with cng) and it's cleaner...but off course it has CO2 emissions!
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Andr 1:05PM (9/26/2006)
The Ka was ahead of its time when it came out around ten years ago. A very nice version it the limited Lufthansa edition:
http://www.hengel.de/meinka.jpg
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Karl 1:42PM (9/26/2006)
Re. the prices I think these refer to engine lubricating oils. Uniflo for diesels, Ultra being mineral and Ultron fully syntetic.
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Greg A. 1:50PM (9/26/2006)
Gasoline? I thought cars in Brazil run on 100% alcohol.
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Fbio 2:49PM (9/26/2006)
Sorry about the no CO2 emissions part guys. My bad. I've already corrected this mistake in Flickr too...
About the post by Greg A. - Greg, in the '80, ethanol (alcohol) was the fuel for almost 95% of all cars produced here, but sugar cane production was subsidized by the government through the "ProAlcool" program. Problems with the government and reduction of gasoline prices turned ethanol-fueled cars less interesting (they were quite hard to start and warm up on cold days and, despite a nice performance boost over gasoline models, fuel consumption is much higher). To keep sugar cane farmers quiet, the government decided to mix a little percentage of alcohol on the gasoline (about 20%). Now, thanks to technology advance, alcohol is returning to its old days, on flexible fuel cars.
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GP 4:03PM (9/26/2006)
Yes, this is much better than the 2003 325i from yesterday.
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Steve K 4:36PM (9/26/2006)
Um, it appears as though you have a bomb in your trunk. What happens when an H3 rear ends you?
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Fbio 5:06PM (9/26/2006)
Steve, this is surely something that will never happen, as H3 are simply non-existant here. But unfortunately, there's no other place for the tank. So, any collision in the rear may move it and start a natural gas leak. At least, the tank is extremely strong and something like a fire will only occur if some spark is ignited. I can also get out of the car after the crash and close de valve on the tank and inside the engine bay. And natural gas evaporate quickly, making it safer than a big puddle of gasoline on the ground.
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Abraham 10:26PM (9/26/2006)
Finally a car worthy of RR unlike yesterdays car.
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Nick 12:59AM (9/28/2006)
thats a huge f'ing tank
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kenny andersen 10:19PM (10/08/2006)
Nice car
Fo Mo Co is entirely too stupid to import this car into the States. Why would they do that? They would sell too many of them and couldn't handle all the success! They'd rather be stuck with a bunch of white elephnt SUV's that are bloated and nobody wants. The place is being run by squirrels (untrained at that!)
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